FIRE chiefs are warning local residents not to burn waste in their gardens.
It comes after Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service revealed they have been called out to more than 1,500 out of control residential bonfires in the last five years.
Bosses believe charges for garden waste collections could be seeing households looking for alternative ways to dispose of it instead of paying a fee.
The service’s head of prevent and protect, Ian Read, said:
“With the current dry weather, we’re expecting people to be getting their gardens ready for summer and so they are likely to produce a lot of garden waste in the coming weeks.
“Although burning waste might seem like a good idea, it’s really not worth the risk – the dry conditions mean that should a fire get out of hand it will spread extremely quickly to fences, trees, sheds or even your property.
“If you decide to take the risk we’d urge people to follow our safety tips which include making sure the fire is located away from trees, furniture and buildings and ensure it is monitored at all times with easy access to a means of extinguishing the fire, like a garden hose, should it get out of control.
“We also ask that anyone planning on burning waste inform our fire control team so they can note the details to avoid sending a fire engine unnecessarily, as sometimes neighbours spot smoke and presume there is a fire they need to report.”
